Christina Schmidt
🌊🧊 Ice/Ocean Modeller @bas.ac.uk
🎓 @ccrc.bsky.social (UNSW) & @geomarkiel.bsky.social
🌐 https://schmidt-christina.github.io
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtOur paper on a new ice shelf basal melt parameterisation is out! tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/... Small-scale processes in the ocean drive ice shelf basal melt, and large-scale ocean models can’t resolve these processes. Therefore, models use melt parameterisations, but these can still be improved.
- This week I started a new chapter @bas.ac.uk 🎉 As part of the GIANT project I will be modelling how Greenland’s glaciers are melting 🧊🌊 I am excited to see how this multi-disciplinary approach will improve our understanding of such an important topic! www.bas.ac.uk/project/gian...
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🚢 Can you imagine submitting your PhD thesis from the deck of Australia’s icebreaker en route to Antarctica? That’s exactly what @christinaocean.bsky.social (UNSW) did earlier this year. Explore this beautiful multimedia story from UNSW 👉 news.unsw.edu.au/en/breaking-... @ccrc.bsky.social
- I am thrilled to share this multimedia story highlighting my experience on the #Denman Marine Voyage earlier this year, alongside the inspiring work of 3 other Antarctic scientists: news.unsw.edu.au/en/breaking-... ✍️ @melissalyne.bsky.social 🌊🇦🇶 #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @ccrc.bsky.social
- Exciting paper answering a question we have been asking for years: Why is the ocean-sea ice model ACCESS-OM2-01 simulating the formation of Dense Shelf Water around Antarctica so well? More in this paper by colleagues from ANU and @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social 🌊🇦🇶
- We figured out a cheap-ish way to make ocean models create Dense Shelf Waters (DSW) on the surface of the Antarctic continental shelf! How? Fast answer: Ocean surface cells thinner than 1 m! Long answer on the paper: dx.doi.org/10.1029/2024... ---- More info in the thread
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt
A new paper led by @christinaocean.bsky.social investigates the sensitivity of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation and export to horizontal model resolution 👉 formation of dense shelf waters decrease while the export of AABW increases with finer model resolution doi.org/10.1029/2024... - 🚨 New paper alert 🚨 We developed the new PanAntarctic model and assessed the sensitivity of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation and export to horizontal model resolutions of 1/10°, 1/20° and 1/40°. Open access paper in JAMES: doi.org/10.1029/2024...
- The formation of Dense Shelf Water, the precursor of AABW, reduces with increasing model resolution due to shelf freshening. Increased eddy activity with higher model resolution flattens the isopycnals in the open Southern Ocean and enables access of lighter waters onto the continental shelf.
- The total offshore AABW transport increases, however, with increasing model resolution, especially across the 2500m isobath, due to less diapycnal mixing during the downslope flow. This resolution dependency is strongest in the Ross and Weddell Seas, the two most important regions of AABW formation.
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View full threadSee our paper for more details on model setup/ evaluation and modeling downslope flow. doi.org/10.1029/2024... Thanks to my co-authors @adele-morrison.bsky.social, @profmattengland.bsky.social, Wilton Aguiar and Angus Gibson @ccrc.bsky.social@antarcticsciaus.bsky.social@access-nri.bsky.social 🌊
- 🎓 Finishing up my time @ccrc.bsky.social with a PhD exit seminar yesterday. It was great meeting you all over the last 4 years, hope to see you again soon 🤞 🌏 🔜 🌍 Now I am getting ready to move to the other side of the world again, stay tuned for updates on what's happening next 🙌
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtFrom East Antarctica to the world: @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social outreach program goes global Celebrating the power of connection through science on the Denman Marine Voyage 🌏 #DMV AAD | @antarctic.bsky.social | @arcsaef.bsky.social antarctic.org.au/from-east-an...
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtThanks for being part of it and sharing your experience @christinaocean.bsky.social ! 🌊 #DMV
- Have a look at this amazing video about the #Denman Marine Voyage! It opens with stunning aerial footage of the Denman Glacier and highlights our scientific achievements. 🇦🇶🌊🧪 youtu.be/tbnl7M4kZTk #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @antarctic.bsky.social
- We are back in Hobart after 2 months at sea on RSV #Nuyina 🌊 It was an incredible voyage to the Denman Glacier and Shakleton Ice Shelf with great people, an impressive range of science, stunning landscapes, and cute wildlife. @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social #Denman Marine Voyage #DMV
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtWorking with the hydrochemistry team for @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social on the #DMV, @christinaocean.bsky.social has also captured some incredible images of the natural environment around the Denman Glacier ⬇️ @ccrc.bsky.social | UNSW (portrait: Pete Harmsen / AAD)
- Finishing the #Denman Marine Voyage with more outreach I invited students from my old high school in Northern Germany to come on a virtual tour of RSV Nuyina. Through the @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social school outreach program, 96 year 11 students learned about the science we do on DMV: 🌊🧊🇦🇶🧪🦭🌡️🐙☁️
- More about our outreach program on the #DMV blog: antarctic.org.au/outreach-at-...
- Happy World Penguin Day 🐧 🐧 🐧 A curious Emperor penguin having a quick look at RSV Nuyina while we deployed a mooring near the Shakleton Ice Shelf a few weeks ago. #Denman Marine Voyage #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtOn March 1, Antarctic sea ice reached its smallest coverage of the year. This year’s minimum extent tied 2022 and 2024 for the second-lowest summer sea ice area observed since satellite records began in 1979. Learn more: www.climate.gov/news-feature...
- Inspiring the next generation of polar & marine scientists 🧑🔬 👨🔬 👩🔬 Taking students on a virtual tour of RSV Nuyina, explaining marine instruments and showing samples we have gathered in the last weeks has been such a fun and rewarding experience. #DMV #Denman Marine Voyage
- From East #Antarctica, to the world! 🌏 #DMV scientists share the wonder and celebrate connection through our school outreach program - with Kinderhaus childcare in Munich, Weston High School in Massachusetts and Mount Nelson PS in Hobart. @antarctic.bsky.social | @arcsaef.bsky.social | AAD
- Yesterday was our last day in the sea ice. I was really lucky to have experienced this amazing landscape with its adorable wildlife in the last weeks. We had a very successful science program in areas of East Antarctica never studied before 🌊 🧪 Goodbye Antarctica 👋🇦🇶🐧 #DMV
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtYesterday, the weather cleared, paving the way for these stunning images from the air 🙌 📷: Pete Harmsen / AAD
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🛰️ Seen from space: our satellite mapper Pat Wongpan @utas.edu.au found RSV Nuyina and the Denman Marine Voyage #DMV on 10 April near Shackleton Ice Shelf in East #Antarctica. Using Landsat-8 imagery, he identified Nuyina from its track through the sea ice, reddish colour and 160.3 m length.
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtCCRC’s PhD student Christina Schmidt @christinaocean.bsky.social is onboard RSV Nuyina, and they have just crossed the halfway mark of the Denman Marine Voyage: “We had an intense and exciting last 3 weeks near the Denman Glacier, the fastest retreating glacier in East Antarctica. #Antarctica
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtThe #DMV has officially crossed the halfway mark and the team is on the move again, heading west to explore a new area off the Shackleton Ice Shelf 🧊🌊 For our science lead Delphine Lannuzel, it's a good time for mapping out the next few weeks of research! 📷: Katharina Hochmuth
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🌊 Denman Marine Voyage #DMV in #Antarctica: Mysterious 'sea pigs', murky mud, jade icebergs, exquisite marine life ... and the sheer excitement of doing science where no-one has been before. 🎞️ www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04...
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🌊 Low sea-ice cover means the Denman Marine Voyage #DMV can get to places no humans have been before. Claire Yung (@scienceanu.bsky.social & @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social) says it allows us to obtain critical data, but is also a reminder of serious and unprecedented changes to Earth’s climate.
- We have been lucky in the last 2 weeks and observed sea ice formation. Starting with little ice crystals that can form pancakes or thin grey sheets. Older ice flows from last winter can be 1 m thick and covered in snow. And if there is a penguin on an ice floe - even better. #Denman Marine Voyage
- @claire-y.bsky.social wrote about the various types of sea ice we observed in our #DMV blog: antarctic.org.au/into-the-ice/ @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Can one ever get enough of watching icebergs? I certainly can't: so many different shapes and sizes, amazing shades of white and blue, some are even green or black. A good explainer on how icebergs get their colour on our #DMV blog: antarctic.org.au/mysteries-of... @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- More special ones just floated by
- A little poem to celebrate today's World Day for Glaciers and World Poetry Day: I have now seen the Denman Glacier with my own eyes under stunning blue and mystical grey skies. I am still speechless by its beauty and vast extend, and more convinced than ever this is important to defend. 1/4
- The Denman Glacier holds a 1.5 m sea level rise potential, understanding how vulnerable it is to melting is essential. How does the glacier melt from below? Can we find the warm water inflow? 2/4
- Besides doing exciting science, I am enjoying the view of icebergs in all shapes & sizes, in white, brown & blue. Watching Adélie and Emperor penguins up close was a highlight, and observing sea ice form another fascinating sight. 3/4
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- We had the most amazing time at the Denman Glacier and completed a section of 23 CTDs under close supervision of Adelie and Emperor penguins. 🇦🇶🐧🌊❄️🧪 #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- I saw my first ever Adelie Penguins only metres away, absolutely incredible 🐧😍🇦🇶 #Denman Marine Voyage #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- After a blizzard halted most of our scientific activities over the last days, we are busy again. Another CTD and a Trace Metal Rosette were deployed during the night. Now it's all about sediments: First a Kasten core brought 2.3 m of mud up and now a Multi core is on its way to 1650 m. #DMV 🇦🇶
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtThe #DMV has reached the #Antarctic continental shelf and freezing temperatures offshore from the Denman Glacier. The passage there was a wild one at times with gale to storm-force winds and enormous seas, as captured here in magnificent detail by voyage photographer Pete Harmsen (AAD) ⬇️
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtCongratulations @christinaocean.bsky.social on the submission of your PhD - 'Antarctic Bottom Water Formation and Dynamics in a Changing Climate.' @ccrc.bsky.social A huge achievement at any time, let alone from the Southern Ocean on board the #DMV 🙌
- PhD thesis submitted on the Antarctic continental shelf at 64°S, 99°E 🇦🇶 ❄️ 🌊 🎓 🎉 What an amazing way to submit with an iceberg in the background! Thank you @profmattengland.bsky.social and @adele-morrison.bsky.social for being awesome supervisors! @ccrc.bsky.social @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Great summary of all the gear we got for the trip down south, but I am starting to wear more and more of it as temperatures sit around the freezing point and it has been pretty windy over the last days. 🇦🇶❄️🥶 #Denman Marine Voyage #DMV
- Day 0: I’m thrilled to receive so many gifts, even though I have to return a large portion of them 🥰 🧦 ✖️ 4 🧤 ✖️ 8 ….. #DMV
- PhD thesis submitted on the Antarctic continental shelf at 64°S, 99°E 🇦🇶 ❄️ 🌊 🎓 🎉 What an amazing way to submit with an iceberg in the background! Thank you @profmattengland.bsky.social and @adele-morrison.bsky.social for being awesome supervisors! @ccrc.bsky.social @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtHappy International Women's Day to everyone, especially those on RSV Nuyina for the Denman Marine Voyage in #Antarctica, where most of the scientists from AAPP/ @utas.edu.au, @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social, @arcsaef.bsky.social & AAD are women! ▶️ aappartnership.org.au/DMV/ #IWD2025 #DMV 📷 P Harmsen
- Our first iceberg 🤩🧊🇦🇶 We crossed 60°S this morning, water and air temperature sit around 3°C, we are clearly in Antarctic waters now. We also deployed another CTD and Argo float - our science program is well underway. #DMV @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtFirst week aboard the research icebreaker Nuyina! An update from PhD student @christinaocean.bsky.social: On March 1st, we set sail from Hobart, marking the start of the Denman Marine Voyage to Antarctica. After months of preparation, it's incredible to finally be at sea.
- My view in the last days during the transit through the Southern Ocean: Bow crashing into 5-7 m high waves and the spray flying up -- I could watch it for hours and luckily we are not that busy yet and stuck in the lab all the time. #Denman Marine Voyage #DMV @antarctic.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtAbout halfway from Hobart to #Antarctica, RSV Nuyina is meeting the Southern Ocean head on. Track the ship's progess on the Denman Marine Voyage #DMV at www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-op... and follow our voyage blog at aappartnership.org.au/DMV/ 📹 Pete Harmsen/AAD
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtFollow the #DMV journey south with the RSV Nuyina voyage tracker map and icebreaker webcams ⬇️ www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-op... @antarctic.bsky.social | @arcsaef.bsky.social | AAD
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt📷: Pete Harmsen / AAD
- We deployed our first CTD yesterday evening to kick off science operations. During the voyage we will take water samples to measure up to 21 different parameters throughout the water column. Now it's grey, just like I imagined the Southern Ocean, but fairly calm seas. 🧭 50°21'S, 140°20'E
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtMany years in the making, the first dedicated marine science voyage on board Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina is almost here. The two-month-long Denman Marine Voyage (DMV) is due to depart Hobart this afternoon. www.antarctica.gov.au/news/2025/de...
- We are finally on our way! We left Hobart yesterday and are at 45°50'S, 143°56'E now. The Southern Ocean is showing its best self: blues skies and waves of ~3 m. Everyone is busy preparing for our 1st CTD cast this evening, but there is still enough time to take in the views. #Denman Marine Voyage
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🌊 And they’re off! Fair winds and following seas to the voyagers from AAPP @utas.edu.au, @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social, @arcsaef.bsky.social, AAD and the crew on RSV Nuyina, heading south to Denman Glacier in East #Antarctica.
- ***Content only available in German unfortunately*** Ich habe eine Podcastfolge mit Arved Fuchs aufgenommen und mit ihm über die anstehenden Forschungsfahrt in die Antarktis gesprochen und wie es eigentlich dazu kam. Wir sind jetzt an Bord, aber noch im Hafen. 🌊🇦🇶 open.spotify.com/episode/1ea2...
- Aus den Shownotes: Da ist der Funke wirklich übergesprungen: Im Sommer 2010 nahm Christina Schmidt, die aus der Nähe von Bad Bramstedt kommt, am Jugendcamp von Arved Fuchs teil - heute arbeitet sie als Ozeanografin in Tasmanien.
- Sie hat gerade ihre Doktorarbeit abgeschlossen und bricht nun mit einem australischen Forschungseisbrecher zur nächsten Forschungsreise auf.
- Die Faszination für die Ozeanographie wurde beim Jugendcamp geweckt - deshalb war sie nach der ersten Teilnahme noch dreimal als Betreuerin dabei, erzählt die begeisterte Wissenschaftlerin in dieser Podcast-Folge. #Denman Marine Voyage @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtTwo more sleeps until departure day! Here's most of the 47 scientists from AAPP @utas.edu.au & @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social leaving on the two-month Denman Marine Voyage (5000km south to East #Antarctica) with AAD and @arcsaef.bsky.social this Friday. 🌊 Follow them at aappartnership.org.au/DMV/
- It's getting real: ✅ Refresher on oxygen titration ✅ Lab inductions on board 📝 3 days left to write up my PhD thesis We are heading to Antarctica for 2 months on Friday. Read about the #Denman Marine Voyage here www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02... More ❄️🇦🇶🐧 coming soon! @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt1️⃣ Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the densest water mass in the world ocean due to its high salinity & cold temperatures. Filling the abyss, it accounts for up to 40% of oceanic volume. It plays a vital role in moving cold water toward the equator and regulating global climate. Animation: NASA SVS
- Reposted by Christina Schmidt🌊 "Nowhere on Earth is there a greater cause of uncertainty in sea-level rise projections than from East Antarctica, in Australia’s backyard. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet alone holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 50m if completely melted." www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11...
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtCCRC’s @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social scientists and students are attending the "Australian Antarctic Research Conference - An emergency summit for Antarctica’s future" They are presenting the latest findings, discussing and engaging with more than 500 Antarctic scientists and calling for action 🇦🇶🐧🌊
- Very excited to present my latest research at #AARC24 🇦🇶 today: What has driven the recent rebound in salinity in the Ross Sea 🌊 ? Anomalous winds 🌬️ or reduced melting of Amundsen Sea ice shelves 🧊? Soaking it all in, last conference of my PhD 🎓! @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @antarctic.bsky.social
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtThe Warming Stripes have now been turned into a beautiful gennaker sail for a new voyage through the north-west passage of the Arctic Ocean. www.oceanscienceexpedition.com Credits: Northwest Passage Ocean Science Expedition, Ramon Gonçalves, MEDIA.etc, Keith Tuffley
- Reposted by Christina SchmidtNew paper by @midwayxie.bsky.social with CCRC co-authors Hannah Dawson & @christinaocean.bsky.social: Waters subducting into the deep ocean near Antarctica can sequester CO2 for centuries. By analysing how long these waters stay in the euphotic zone we found that light is limiting CO2 fixation.
